Multimagazine, two-stage feeding device for firearms



June 22, 1965 F. P. REED' MULTIMAGAZINE, TWO-STAGE FEEDING DEVICE FOR FIREARMS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 24, 1965 INVENTOR. Fr e :[2 vi :kPIRE a BY H w 7- S M WZ June 22, 1965 F. P. REED 3,190,023

MULTIMAGAZINE, TWO-STAGE FEEDING DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Filed May 24, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 54 F 30 88 e o 76 33 64 T 74 /-\J 58 f4 36 I 34 7 Fig .7 P :kg E1- -iEl 38 68 7 INVENTOR.

64 J Fredari'ckPReed:

J I M 4 W S.

June 22, 1965 F. P. REED 3,190,023

MULTIMAGAZINE, TWO-STAGE FEEDING DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Filed May 24, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. FIECFE r ink REE E d NM M.

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United States Patent Filed May 24, 1963, Ser. No. 283,116 6 Qlaims. (Cl. 4218) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to feeding mechanisms for fire arms and more particularly to feeding mechanisms which include firearm mounted magazines.

With shoulder arms which are designed for military use, it is important to have as large a supply of cartridges as possible available in the weapon magazine so that firing during a critical period need not be interrupted for magazine replacement or replenishment. Obviously, the simplest means for increasing the supply of cartridges is to increase the length of the column of cartridges in the magazine but this increases the length of the magazine and the length to which a magazine can be increased is limited, especially those for military firearms in which Moreover, by increasing the length of the column of cartridges, the length and the tension of the magazine spring which biases the cartridges to the stripping position must be increased accordingly. This produces problems as the increased tension of the spring increases the force with which the leading cartridge is pressed against the magazine lips when positioned for stripping. Because of this force, the energy in the reciprocating bolt must be increased sufiiciently to overcome the additional force required to strip the leading cartridge from the magazine during counterrecoil travel and in some firearms such increased energy is not available for the bolt.

Attempts have been made in the past to overcome these problems by dividing box-type magazines into two compartments and designing the feeding system so that the cartridges are fed from the second compartment after the first compartment is emptied, thereby reducing the length of the magazine and the length and tension required of the magazine spring. But these designs have not been completely successful because in all of them firing either has to be interrupted while feeding is transferred from one compartment to another or else the length of the firearm receiver and, consequently, the overall length of the firearm must be increased to permit sufificient overtravel of the bolt for automatic transfer so that there will be no interference during transfer between the magazine and the bolt.

It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide for firearms a feeding mechanism which provides a supply of cartridges by means of two similar box-type magazines arranged so that one is automatically positioned for feeding, when the other is depleted, and the emptied magazine is automatically ejected.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a feeding mechanism in which such transfer of feed automatically takes place without requiring overtravel of the bolt.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a feeding mechanism in which the magazines are mounted side-by-side and are indexed transversely and in which the cartridges are transferred from the feeding positioned magazine to the barrel chamber in two stages so that the feed pawl may be mounted on the rear end of the bolt ,to reduce the length of the firearm receiver and to streams Patented June 22, 1965 prevent interference between the bolt and the magazine being transferred to the feeding position.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinally cross-sectioned view of a firearm;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a View taken along line 33 of FIG. 1 and shows a cartridge in the elevator transferred thereinto from the left stack of a two-stack magazine.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 and shows a cartridge transferred from the right stack of the magazine;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 but shows the elevator platform in its normal position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG, 1 but shows a cartridge in the elevator contacted by the bolt head and a cartridge in the feeding position in magazine contacted by the feed pawl on the bolt carrier;

FIG. 7 is a view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and shows one magazine indexed for feeding and another inreserve;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but shows the feeding position magazine empty and unlatched for ejection from the firearm;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIGS. 7 and 8 but shows the reserve magazine indexed for feeding;

FIG. 10 is a view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the latch; and

FIG. 12 is an enlarged, partially fragmented and exploded view of the housing, cradle and magazines of the feeding mechanism.

Shown in the figures is a rifle 12 having a barrel 14 and a receiver 16 in which a bolt assembly 18 is disposed for reciprocation between a battery and a recoil position in recoil and couuterrecoil strokes. Bolt assembly 18 is of conventional two-piece type comprising a carrier 20 and a bolt 22 which is disposed for telescopic and rotational displacement relative thereto for locking purposes and which is provided with a head 24. A feed pawl 23, fabricated from fiat spring stock, is mounted on the underside of carrier 20 at the rear end thereof.

Fixed to receiver 16 at the rear end thereof is a magazine housing 26 which has communication with the interior thereof by means of a port 23 positioned so as to be covered by carrier 20 when in recoil position. Mounted in receiver 16 immediately forward of housing 26 is an elevator 30 which includes a platform 32 which is disposed for limited vertical displacement in a casing 33 and is biased upwardly from a depressed to an elevated position, all of which will be further described hereinafter.

Housing 26 is arranged to receive in side-by-side relationship two similar magazines 36 each of which holds a plurality of cartridges 38 alternately positioned in a double stack according to conventional design as is best shown in FIG. 2. A cradle 40 is pivotally mounted for lateral displacement in the bottom of housing 26 by means of a longitudinal pin 42 as is best shown in FIG. 12. Cradle 46 is provided with two laterally related and longitudinally extending channels 44 each of which matingly receives the bottom one of the magazines 36. The righthand side of housing 26 is open to form an opening 46 through which magazines 36 may be successively inserted into the housing and seated in channels 44 of cradle 40. Housing 26 is provided with an offset portion 48 which extends to the left and is arranged to receive the reverse one of the magazines 36 when the other one thereof is indexed in the feeding position in registry with port 28 as can best be seen in FIG. 2. All references to right or left side are respective to a position looking towards the muzzle of rifle 12 from the rear end thereof. A spring 49 is disposed between the left side of offset portion 48 and the adjacent one of the magazines 36 for biasing the magazine to the right. Magazines 36 are respectively held indexed in the feeding position by a latch 59 which is mounted on a longitudinally disposed pin 54 in a clearance 52 provided therefor in the upper rear wall of housing 26 and which will be further described hereinafter.

Each of the magazines 36, as has been noted hereinbefore, is of conventional two-stack type with cartridges 33 arranged alternately in a right-hand stack and a left-hand stack, and which includes a housing 56 and a springpressed follower 58 provided with a rearwardly extending tang 69. A pair of arcuate lips 62 extend upwardly and inwardly from opposite sides of housing 56 to form a longitudinal opening 63 through which feed pawl 23 extends for successively stripping cartridges 38 from magazine 36 during repeated travel of bolt assembly 18 to the battery position. Lips 62 and follower 58 are so designed that the leading cartridge 38 is held in stripping position between the follower and the one of the lips which is on the respective side of magazine 36 according to conventional design.

Tang 6@ is slidingly received by a channel 64 which is essentially of U-shaped configuration in cross-section and which is pressed outwardly from the rear end of housing 56. Channel 64 is terminated at the top by a top edge 66 which is of step formation as the top edge of the left side of the channel extends above the other two sides to form a stop 68 which has cooperation with latch 50, as hereinafter described, for releasably holding the respective magazine 36 in feeding position.

Platform 32 includes a pair of tabs 70 which depend at right angles from the front and rear ends thereof respectively and an upright flange 72 which extends longitudinally along the length of the platform and central the width thereof. Platform 32 is mounted in casing 33 for pivotal displacement by means of a pair of rivets 74 which are fixed to casing 33 and extend through corresponding holes 76 in the tabs 70. Holes 76 are elongated vertically to provide for limited vertical displacement of platform 32 between the depressed and elevated positions. Spring 34 presses platform 32 to the elevated position and permits rocking movement thereof on rivet 74.

A pair of lips 86 similar to lips 62 on magazine 36 extend upwardly and inwardly from opposite sides of casing 33 to form a longitudinal mouth 82. Lips 80 and flange '72 are so designed and related that a cartridge 38 is firmly held between one of the lips and the corresponding side of the flange by the bias of spring 34 when platform 32 is in the elevated position.

Latch 50 is essentially a flat bar which is mounted about midway the length thereof on pin 54 to form a right arm 84 on the right side of the pin and a left arm 86 on the opposite side which left arm is contactable with top edge 66 of the magazine 36 in feeding position. Latch 50 is provided with a concave surface 83 along the underside and left arm 86 is terminated by a left end 90 which has contact with stop 68 to hold the respective magazine 36 in the feeding position against the bias of spring 49. A spring 92 acts upwardly against right arm 34 to press left arm 36 downwardly into contact with top edge 66 so that left end 90 is in contact with stop 68. When the last cartridge 38 is stripped from magazine 36 in the feeding position, follower 58 therein springs upwardly to move tank 60 against concave surface 38 to raise left end 90 out of contact with stop 63. Thus, under the influence of spring 49, the two magazines 36 are swung to the right with the emptied magazine being ejected out of opening 46 and the reserve magazine being held in feeding position by latch 50. Concave surface 88 is contoured so that, as the emptied magazine 36 is ejected and tang 60 therein moves along the concave surface, right arm 84 is cammingly elevated to lower left end 96 into position for contact by stop 66. Right arm 84 is arranged to extend outwardly from housing 26 so as to provide manual means for actuating latch 59.

Operation Rifle 12 is loaded by successively inserting two magazines 36 through opening 46 into seating engagement with channels 44 of cradle 40 and then pressing inwardly until the second magazine is secured in feeding position by latch 59 and the first is received by offset portion 48. Rifle l2 fires when bolt assembly 18 is in battery position with one cartridge 38 chambered in barrel 14 and another positioned on platform 32.

During recoil travel of bolt assembly 18, responsive to discharge of the chambered cartridge 38, feed pawl 23 is deflected by contact with the leading cartridge in magazine 36 when passing thereover. Feed pawl 23 snaps down in back of the leading cartridge 38, when bolt assembly 18 reaches recoil position, and is ready to strip the top cartridge forwardly from magazine 36 during the following counterrecoil stroke. Also during the recoil stroke of bolt assembly 18, head 24 wipes along cartridge 33 on platform 32 to hold the cartridge depressed. When head 24 is clear thereof, cartridge 38 is displaced upwardly by platform 32 into position for contact by the head during the following counterrecoil stroke for transfer thereby into barrel 14.

When bolt assembly 13 moves into its counterrecoil stroke, cartridge 38 on platform 32 is transferred into the chamber of barrel 14 and is replaced by another cartridge transferred forwardly from magazine 36 by feed pawl 23. The displacement of cartridge 38 from magazine 36 to the platform 32 is longitudinal as the cartridge is held against radial displacement by contact with carrier 20. When the ogive of cartridge 38 contacts platformr 32 and flange 58, the platform is depressed and is rocked into the opposite pivotal position so that the contact of the cartridge between the flange and the respective one of the lips on the side which corresponds to the stack from which the cartridge was removed from magazine 36 holds the cartridge in pickup position respective to head 24.

When the last cartridge 38 is stripped from magazine 36 in the feeding position, follower 58 is freed to be displaced in overtravel so that tang 60 upsets latch 50 and left end is lifted from stop 68. With stop 68 disengaged, the emptied magazine 36 is freed permitting ejection of the emptied magazine out of opening 46 and the displacement of the reserve magazine into feeding position. The reserve magazine 36 is held in feeding position by latch 50 which is actuated into stopping position by the camming contact of undersurface 88 by tang 60 of the emptied magazine during ejection thereof.

In normal operation, there is sufficient time for the ejection of the emptied magazine 36 and the displacement of the reserve magazine to feeding position after the last cartridge is stripped from the first magazine and before feed pawl 23 becomes adjacent housing 26 in recoil travel because, during which time the carrier moves forwardly relative to bolt 22 for rotational locking thereof, the chambered cartridge is fired, and the carrier moves rearwardly relative to the bolt for the unlocking thereof. But, if the transfer time should be prolonged for some reason, and damage could not be caused because the curved configuration of lips 62 will smoothly cam feeding pawl 23 out of the way.

Feeding position magazine 36 can be ejected at any time from rifle 12 to replace a partially emptied magazine with a full one and, after one of the two magazines in the rifle is ejected, a full magazine can be inserted at any time when convenient. It is also readily apparent that housing 26 in cradle 40 can be designed to hold more than two magazines 36.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised within the spirit and scope,

thereof and the following claims are intended to include such variations.

I claim:

1. In a firearm having a receiver with a feed port, a feeding device including a housingdepending from the receiver for receiving in side-by-side relationship a pair of magazines for respective disposition in a reserve and a feeding position respective to the feed port, a cradle pivotally mounted in said housing for supporting said magazines for transversal displacement, said housing being provided with an opening in one side for insertion of said magazines into. and ejection of said magazines from said housing, a spring disposed between a side of said housing opposite said opening and said magazines in said cradle for biasing said magazines to said opening, and means for automatically releasing the one of said magazines in the feeding position when emptied to permit ejection thereof through said opening and displacement of the one of said magazines in the reserve position tothe feeding position by said spring.

, 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said means include a stop on each of said magazines, a tang on a follower in each of said magazines, a latch pivotally mounted on said housing for releasable contact with said stop on the one of said magazines in the feeding position to latch said magazine therein, said tang of the one of said magazines in the feeding position having cooperation with said latch for actuation thereof out of contact with said stop of the feeding position one of said magazines when empty for ejection thereof out of said opening, and a concave surface on said latch disposed for sliding cone tact by said tang of the feeding position one of said magazines during ejection thereof for displacing said latch to a position for latching contact by said stop on the reserve position one of said magazines when displaced to the feeding position.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the firearm also includes a bolt reciprocal in a receiver between a recoil and a battery position and wherein the feeding device includes a feed pawl mounted on the rear end of the bolt so as to be contactable with a leading cartridge in the feeding position one of said mazagines for successively stripping the cartridges therein longitudinally and without radial displacement therefrom, and wherein the feed port is arranged to provide communication between said housing and the inside of the receiver to receive said feed pawl for stripping the cartridges from the feeding position one of said magazines, such port being located so as to be covered by the bolt when in recoil position.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 and including in the feeding device an elevator disposed so as to receive the cartridges stripped from the feeding positioned one of the magazines during displacement of the bolt to the battery position and a platform in said elevator arranged to elevate the cartridge therein to a position contactable by the head of the bolt for transfer thereby into a barrel of the firearm during the subsequent displacement of the bolt to battery position.

5. The feeding device as defined in claim 4 wherein said feed magazines are each designed to hold a lefthand and a right-hand stack of the cartridges in alternate arrangement, and said elevator includes a pair of arcuate lips forming a mouth arranged for passage of said head therealong and means cooperating with said platform for holding said cartridges in position for contact by said head after being longitudinally transferred onto said platform from the feeding positioned one of said magazines by said feed pawl.

6. The feeding device as defined in claim 5 wherein said platform includes a longitudinally disposed flange extending upright along said platform intermediate the width thereof, and wherein said means cooperating with said platform include a spring arranged for biasing said platform from a depressed to an elevated position and cooperating mounting rivets and elongated holes in said platform arranged to permit vertical displacement thereof between the depressed and elevated positions and pivotal displacement between transverse positions, wherein one of the cartridges is held for pickup by said head between one of said lips and an adjacent side of said flange.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,418,462." 4/47 Chadwick et al. 4218 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A FIREARM HAVING A RECEIVER WITH A FEED PORT, A FEEDING DEVICE INCLUDING A HOUSING DEPENDING FROM THE RECEIVER FOR RECEIVING IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATIONSHIP A PAIR OF MAGAZINES FOR RESPECTIVE DISPOSITION IN A REVERSE AND A FEEDING POSITION RESPECTIVE TO THE FEED PORT, A CRADLE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING FOR SUPPORTING SAID MAGAZINES FOR TRANSVERSAL DISPLACEMENT, SAID HOUSING BEING PROVIDED WITH AN OPENING IN ONE SIDE FOR INSERTION OF SAID MAGAZINES INTO AND EJECTION OF SAID MAGAZINES FROM SAID HOUSING, A SPRING DISPOSED BETWEEN A SIDE OF SAID HOUSING OPPOSITE SAID OPENING AND SAID MAGAZINES IN SAID CRADLE FOR BIASING SAID MAGAZINES TO SAID OPENING, AND MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY RELEASING THE ONE OF SAID MAGAZINES IN THE FEEDING POSITION WHEN EMPTIED TO PERMIT EJECTION THEREOF THROUGH SAID OPENING AND DISPLACEMENT OF THE ONE OF SAID MAGAZINES IN THE RESERVE POSITION TO THE FEEDING POSITION BY SAID SPRING. 